


The Huntress: Stand By Me

by be_dazzled06



Series: In Another Life [3]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Navia - Freeform, One-Shot, Rare Pair, fairy tail - Freeform, in another life, natsu x juvia - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:35:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23821669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/be_dazzled06/pseuds/be_dazzled06
Summary: She was a huntress and it was her duty to protect humanity from evil. Maybe, if she'd keep reminding herself that, she'll hurt less.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel & Juvia Lockser, Natsu Dragneel/Juvia Lockser
Series: In Another Life [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1715182
Kudos: 9





	The Huntress: Stand By Me

**Author's Note:**

> Please play Stand By Me by Florence and the Machine for better reading.

_When the night has come and the land is dark  
_ _And the moon is the only light we'll see_

The world had descended into utter darkness. Steps hit the cold pavement – urgent and unfaltering. The light from the lampposts flickered out as quickly as hope in the warrior's heart. The vibrant blue hair rode the wind as the girl rushed to the abandoned clock tower. She wanted to stop but she couldn't. She was a predator, a supernatural huntress. Her prey was on the top of the clock tower and he was about to devour the world with his darkness. She couldn't let that happen, not under her watch. But there was a whisper in heart, a small little mutter that was almost easy to miss behind the louder voice of duty ordering her to protect the world.

You can't kill him.

A part of her wanted to listen to that voice. She wanted to stop, just go back and let the world cave in on her. She didn't have that privilege. It was her duty to protect all of humanity from the dark powers that lurked the grounds of the earth. No matter what, no matter who that dark power may be.

_No, I won't be afraid  
_ _Oh, I won't be afraid_

Juvia arrived at the foot of the condemned clock tower. She used no other light other than the one strong sliver coming from the moon. The moon had always been her friend.

The lock on the broken-down wooden door was still there. The sharp blade of her scythe shattered the old lock. Juvia pushed the door open with her right shoulder, shoving her body into the narrow opening. The air inside the dilapidated building was damp and stinky. Mischief of rats and some other kinds of infestations built colonies on every nook and crany. It smelled like the air was trapped inside the building for a hundred years.

Cautiously, she ascended the spiraling staircase, careful not to make any unnecessary sound. With every measured step, the wooden planks creaked. One broke beneath her weight and her heart almost leaped thinking that gravity would pull her down to her death. Juvia pulled her foot out of the broken floor wood, scraping her skin, and jumped to the side, near the structure's foundation. Her expert blue eyes gathered the littlest light the small window allowed in. Just a few more steps and Juvia could finally put an end to this. To him.

Juvia gathered herself and continued on her pursuit. She'd have to put an end to the monster on top of that tower. Juvia jumped unto the landing with a light bounce.

There he was perched at the edge of the roof, staring at the full moon, his back on her. Even in the darkness, her blue eyes remembered his figure. The moonlight dimmed the color of his hair but she knew it was cherry pink. He was Natsu – Natsu Dragneel, the first and only man she ever loved.

Slowly, Juvia approached the figure. She wasn't planning on a sneak attack. That wasn't in her nature. If she was going to kill Natsu, Juvia was going to face him head-on. Juvia stopped in her tracks. _Kill Natsu._ She felt her chest tightened. _Kill Natsu Dragneel._ Acid burned in the pit of her stomach, churning its way up until she licked the ugly and bitter taste of it. She saw his head turn half-way, looking at her, studying her. Waiting, just waiting.

The light hit that part of his face visible to her. It was him. It was really him. The rush of realization rooted Juvia on her place and all she could do was stare. And Nastu held her blue beseeching eyes hostage. The moment stretched on what felt life forever. Until, he stirred from his position, turned all the way to face her. By some habit or instinct, her feet started to move towards him and Juvia almost stumbled on her steps when the bright light of the moon revealed Natsu's true form.

_If the sky that we look upon should tumble and fall  
_ _Or the mountain should crumble to the sea_

Red amphibian scales devoured half of his face and his skin. His once warm brown eyes turned into red cruel slits. Blue horrified eyes continued drifting down Natsu's full figure. Half of his body had been transformed but the process wasn't complete. Half of him was still human.

"Juvia."

His voice was a soft rumble against the cold breeze. But the name – _her name_ – morphed the slits back to his warm brown eyes.

"Do it. You're the only one who can kill me." He ordered, not taking his human eyes away from hers.

Once again, Juvia's heart and mind were at war. Her whole body screamed at her to just plunge the sharp blade into his heart. Her brain convinced her that the figure standing before her wasn't Natsu. It was a monster. A monster who was going to end the world as she knew it. Her grip on the pole of her scythe tightened. She fell on her attacking stance, ready for the kill. But even then, she couldn't bring herself to do it, to do what her brain and her strong sense of duty ordered her to do. Because they were wrong, she wasn't staring into the eyes of a monster, she was looking at Natsu.

A loud clank reverberated around Juvia, mixing with the crisp gush of the wind blowing her hair away from her face. Until, she could only hear her own heartbeat. That strong feeling that gripped at her, stung the back of her eyes. Juvia tore her gaze away from Natsu, ashamed of falling short from her duty.

When the words left her mouth, that's when the stubborn tears began to fall.

"I can't." Her voice cracked, head hurting from the internal battle she was struggling to overcome. "I can't do it."

"I'm not who I am anymore."

"No!" Juvia lashed out. She balled her hands into small fists and struck Natsu at the chest, one after the other. "Don't say that!" she begged until her hitting sapped all her energy until she couldn't stand on her own two feet. "You're Natsu."

Juvia fell on her knees, surrendering to the most powerful force on earth – gravity. The jolt of pain was the least of her problem. It was nothing compared to the pain that she was grappling with.

"Bring him back." She managed to say despite the lump that was blocking her airways.

She felt a cold and sharp end poking under her chin. It dented her skin as one long claw forced Juvia's head up to face him.

"Please, bring Natsu back."

She didn't care about anything anymore: not her mind, not her ancient duty, not the fact that she was vulnerable.

"Bring my Natsu back."

She couldn't even see through the flow of tears blurring her vision. But she felt the cold pole of her scythe and Natsu's colder hand covered over hers.

"Just don't forget," his voice was a soft rumble in her ears. "I will always be with you."

She felt the cold press of his lips against hers and she was rendered helpless. The predator, the protector, the huntress, she was helpless in the hands of her enemy. But she knew it wasn't going to last long. Soon enough, this agony would end. All she could do was close her eyes and immortalize this moment in her heart. Then, Juvia's eyes forced open when she heard that undeniable sound of blade buried into flesh.

Natsu plunged himself into her scythe.

Juvia immediately retrieved her blade but it was too late. Natsu's human flesh began to shatter into ashes and all Juvia could do was watch as the existence of the man she loved slowly disappeared, carried by the wind into the silent night.

"I love you, Juvia."

It must have been painful as his body gradually break apart into fading swirls of dust. Natsu didn't show it. He smiled through the ordeal as his flesh washed away. That was how he wanted Juvia to remember him, smiling through his own tears, his own pain. Because he loved her very much. Too much that he took the responsibility away from her. He took his own life so she wouldn't have to live with the guilt.

_I won't cry  
_ _No, I won't shed a tear_

"I love you, too."

The wind gathered up Juvia's blue hair. Natsu Dragneel had become nothing but a memory. His blood was fresh on her blade. She traced the crimson liquid, transferring some on her own fingers. The huntress rubbed her fingers together with her lover's blood in between them. She felt the texture: like flowing water. How ironic, she thought. Water was a symbol of life. The blood on her fingers, on her blade, was nothing but a proof of life's end.

Juvia looked down the silent ground below her. There was nothing, only darkness. She wiped one final tear away from her cold cheek. She promised herself it was the last tear she would ever shed.

She was a huntress and it was her duty to protect humanity from evil. Maybe, if she'd keep reminding herself that, she'll hurt less.

_Just as long as you stand  
_ _Stand by me_


End file.
